Britten's opera ho-down

Paul Bunyan

English Touring Opera

Grand Theatre

,

Wolverhampton

***

THIS bold revival of a seldom performed
and relatively obscure operetta was the second offering from the English
National Opera during their stay in Wolverhampton, the safer “Magic
Flute” having been well despatched the night before.

Paul Bunyan, by Benjamin Britten, dates from
1941, when the then 27-year-old composer was still in his self-imposed
American exile and was revised by Britten in 1976.

The story is based on the folkloric American
lumberjack, Paul Bunyan, with the music incorporating a variety of
American styles, including folk songs, blues and hymns. Stylistically it
has much more in common with contemporary Broadway musicals than
traditional opera, those familiar with Kurt Weil and Rodgers and
Hammerstein will find this easy listening.

Its unique feature is a libretto by poet WH Auden
which is lyrical, awkward and silly , sometimes descending into
doggerel, all at once.

Some of the rhymes are so outrageous that you
wonder whether Auden was joking with Britten . The men fell out after
the project, and the satire on America in general was not popular at the
time.

The narrative has no dramatic pace and its
allegorical style defies zip, the dramatic highlight is the resignation
of the two chefs when asked to vary their bean heavy fare.

However the music is a joy, and the episodic
nature of the scenes offers much comedy and pathos for the actors to
develop. The myth of Paul Bunyan, logger made good, epitome of the
American dream, and “America is what you make it” feels clunky and
clumsy, but the production succeeds on the soaring score and deft acting
characterisations.

Paul Bunyan himself is the disembodied off stage
voice of a recorded Damian Lewis, but it is the company which shines
with numerous impressive acting and vocal cameos.

Anna Fleischle’s single set is a large barn with
weathered timber , tiered bunks along the side, and lumberjack
paraphernalia scattered about imaginatively lit by Guy Hoare whose
fondness for white light and lamps is starkly evident.

This is an ensemble piece with an exuberant cast.
The love-affair between Tiny (Caryl Hughes) and Slim (Ashley Catling)
convinces and the cooks are a scream in a warm production of homespun
charm.

Tiny’s Act I song Whether the sun shine upon
children playing is the undoubted musical highlight of the first
half. Conductor Philip Sunderland , and his players, clearly enjoy
making the most of an effervescent score awash with brio and light and
director Liam Steele ekes maximum dramatic effect from the numbers he
neatly manoeuvres around stage. 18-03-14.